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straighten

[streyt-n] / ˈstreɪt n /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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“A lot of us, our hope is that eventually, history will straighten this all out and say, no, Gloria came in a little later, and her very loyal supporters have backtracked that history.”

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 3, 2026

“You have New Orleans, which has a crime problem. We’ll straighten that out in two weeks, easier than D.C.,”

From The Wall Street Journal Dec. 3, 2025

Or could the head of the country's supreme audit institution, another Socialist named Pierre Moscovici, help straighten the country's finances?

From Barron's Oct. 10, 2025

Her forfeit was to straighten her mop of curly hair for the team's evening meal.

From BBC Sep. 27, 2025

I thought she might try to pull away and straighten herself up, but she leaned into the older woman and cried.

From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce

Word spreads that Sparks starter Kelsey Plum will be there soon and everyone straightens up.

From Los Angeles Times May 13, 2026

A microlens array first aligns and straightens the light from each laser.

From Science Daily Apr. 2, 2026

The Mercator map is arguably the best for this purpose, because it straightens out spiraling rhumb lines, and that’s why it rose to dominance.

From Slate Jan. 21, 2026

He straightens it out and enhances its faded colour with careful strokes of a pencil.

From BBC Nov. 29, 2025

José rests his burden on the ground and straightens his back to full measure.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

“It’ll be back down once we get things straightened out.”

From The Wall Street Journal Sep. 15, 2026

Knightsbridge had a short lead as the two horses passed the mile marker, and when they straightened out in the stretch, the race was over.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 23, 2026

A very kind woman working behind the desk straightened me out: I was being too literal.

From Slate Dec. 29, 2025

Noting the long-standing tensions between North and South Korea, Trump said "we will see what we can do to get that all straightened out".

From BBC Oct. 29, 2025

I straightened them out as I picked my way forward to where he stood.

From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell

His grand goal was to reduce flooding, ease navigation and expand commercial shipping capacity by straightening the river’s course and shortening the distance between Basel and Bonn by 50 miles.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 21, 2026

"Great effort went into straightening rivers to harness them for our use, but also into enabling agriculture by draining the wetlands."

From Barron's Aug. 13, 2026

We may all recoil in horror at “Mar-a-Lago face”—and you might be rolling your eyes at my foray into the world of butt-crack straightening.

From Slate Feb. 22, 2026

Together, they launched Altadena Girls to gather donations including beauty and hair products — fragrances, makeup, pimple patches, straightening tools and diffusers — and new clothing.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 14, 2025

“You called me Rosie just a minute ago. My name is Rosemary,” she says, straightening up.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen




Vocabulary lists containing straighten


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